Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Sunday 1 August 1280, Midday (That Stubborn Stain, and Other Marks)

Gaven is amazed to see the altar, statue and font are unabused by time, but is dismayed at the graffiti. He kneels and prays at the altar looking for divine inspiration on how to purify the temple.

Gaven writes out the temple's engraving and draw the graffiti on a piece of parchment to show Abbot Cuthbert and Cosmo.

The cleric also tries to identify the ink. It is difficult to say what it is. It is not blood, though it has a bloodlike color, and a foul smell is noticeable when Gaven moves closer to inspect it. Perhaps blood was one ingredient that went into the pigment.

As he cannot identify it himself, he attempts to chip some off the wall to bring to Cosmo for identification (or perhaps the sage). However, the pigment refuses to break apart, crack or flake away, no matter how much force Gaven applies, or what type of tool he attempts to use. The pigment may not be entirely mundane in nature.

Cleaning the pigment off the wall seems entirely out of the question.

Meanwhile, Oloc wanders around the church, inspecting the old masonry and remaining features. "I also wonder if there is a 'back door' somewhere around here."

Disturbed by the red graffiti on the wall, Duran joins up with Oloc to search for some secret or trap door. Duran notices an outline on the surface of the dais that could denote a stone trap door in the floor, just behind the altar. If it is a camouflaged door, there is no obvious way to open it. The stone appears very large and heavy, and there is no handle.

Oloc turns his attention to the statue. "What do you think, Gaven? It is amazing the statue seems to have survived all these years. And the altar and font also appear to be amazingly 'undisturbed'...." Oloc perceives, upon closer examination, that there is a thin line along the shoulder joint of the raised right arm of the statue, as if the arm were a separate piece. The line appears perfectly straight, and is clearly not a crack caused by weathering or abuse. The mage also notes that there is no other such line anywhere else on the statue.

Gaven, meanwhile, searches over the altar, statue and font for holy works. He spots nothing more on the statue than the line Oloc points out.

The beautifully crafted font reveals one additional detail. Now visible close up is a finely, delicately carved inscription that reads: "The Light Renews."

On the altar, Gaven also spies the thinnest outline of a square carved into the surface. It is clearly not a defacement of any sort, as the cut is extremely clean and regular. However it has no particular religious signification that he is aware of. It is nothing more than a simple square, with no words or symbols of any sort.